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New Solar Homes Partnership - Docket # 06-NSHP-1

David Hochschild, Renewables Lead Commissioner

The California Energy Commission has developed the New Solar Homes Partnership (NSHP) as part of a comprehensive statewide solar program known as the California Solar Initiative (CSI) with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Development work on the CSI began in 2005 and is moving forward pursuant to Senate Bill 1 (Statutes of 2006, ch. 132), which the Governor signed on August 21, 2006. The goal of the CSI is to install 3,000 megawatts (MW) of distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation in California by the end of 2016. The Energy Commission and the CPUC will each administer separate, but coordinated elements of the CSI. In addition, SB 1 requires local publicly owned electric utilities to administer their own solar energy programs.

The New Solar Homes Partnership implements the Energy Commissions portion of the CSI and will provide financial incentives to encourage the installation of eligible solar energy systems on new residential construction. The New Solar Homes Partnership will focus on new residential buildings to capitalize on the Energy Commissions understanding of production and custom home construction, and seeks to achieve 360 MW of installed PV electricity generation by 2016. In addition, special attention will be provided to address affordable housing issues. Incentives for existing residential and nonresidential buildings and for new nonresidential construction will be provided under the CPUC's program.

The primary goal of the New Solar Homes Partnership is to help create a self sustaining market for energy efficient, new solar homes. Additional goals include home builders incorporating high levels of energy efficiency with high performing solar systems as standard features, and home buyers demanding energy efficient, solar homes. The Energy Commission intends to provide financial incentives and non-financial assistance in the form of builder and market support as the means to help create this self-sustaining market.